The Dark Side of Snapchat: How Social Media Worsens Fentanyl Crisis

Remember when parents used to say, “Never take candy from strangers?” It was used as a warning for children to prevent abductions. Now, instead of abduction, it’s death. Instead of candy, it’s fatal drugs like fentanyl that may be used by teens to cope with stress and other mental health issues. What was then used as a highly regulated painkiller is now responsible for an increase of 182% of fentanyl related deaths from 2019 to 2021. The target? 10 to 19 year olds.

“Students can be exposed to drugs on any social media platform, in person, [and] through search engines,” guidance counselor Stephanie Fugita said.

Snapchat, specifically, has sparked an epidemic of fentanyl-related deaths like no other. The FBI has questioned the families of children who have passed away from fentanyl poisoning by fake pills. The victims supposedly acquired the pills using Snapchat to connect with the dealers. As a result, Snapchat was investigated by the FBI and the Justice Department on Jan. 26.

The vast majority of victims believe that they are receiving prescription painkillers on Snapchat, when in reality, they’re counterfeit. These fake prescription pills, or fentapills, are 100% fentanyl. 25% of the buyers who pass away from fentanyl overdose are victims of this false advertising.

“I think that dealers put it in on purpose so they can make money with less pure products,” Fugita said. For the dealers, it’s just about making profits with no regard to the wellbeing of their teenage victims.

“[Snapchat is] the platform of choice for fentanyl drug dealers,” the National Crime Prevention Council said.

Many argue that the increase in fentanyl-related deaths is not just a Snapchat specific problem. Laura Marques-Garrett, an attorney with the Social Media Victims Law Center disagrees.

“The death of American children by fentanyl poison ing is not a social media issue — it’s a Snapchat issue,” Marques-Garrett told the Los Angeles Times.

Not only is Snapchat a popular social media app among teens, it’s also the perfect platform where dealers sell illegal drugs because of the use of encrypted tech nology that enables messages to be deleted over time.

Additionally, Snapchat has another feature called Snap Maps, which allows users to locate others on a digital map using device locations. Dealers take advan tage of these qualities to sell illicit drugs like fentanyl on the app in hopes that they won’t get caught.

Although Snapchat is working to improve their secu rity and remove drug dealers’ accounts, it’s not enough. Whether they want to have fun, cope with stress, or are an unknowing victim of coun terfeit pills, teens are still dying. Instead of relying on drugs to cope, teens should be encouraged to find relief through other methods such as physical activity, cooking, or reading.

“I think that we need to make sure our students are aware of the risks and that they report any illicit activity to the staff and administration,” Fugita said.

To prevent risks of fentanyl poisoning, the Pinewood community needs to understand the threats this drug poses to people’s lives, especially teens.

Teens all across the U.S. are dying because of this social media caused epidemic. Is that the price teens have to pay when they “take candy from strangers?”

Note: If a student is struggling, always reach out to a

Pinewood Earns Award for Female Representation in CS Mendelian Biology: Bio Students Breed Fruit Flies

For the 2022 school year, Pinewood received an award from the College Board for 50% or higher female participation in one of two AP computer science courses such as Computer Science Principles. Pinewood is one of 832 schools that received this award. It is a big achievement and a stepping stone to continued inclusion of women in computer science.

The inclusion this award celebrates is essential to the evolution of computer science, which works to represent the diversity in our society. This award demonstrates that Pinewood is providing female students with the necessary resources to succeed in the computer science division, which many women do not partake in.

Pew Research states that, in 2022, females made up less than 26% of computer-related jobs — clearly, the computer science division is a male-dominated workforce. Pinewood, by classes like AP Computer Science Principles, will help increase diversity in the computer science division.

Pinewood’s hope is that, by giving the necessary resources, female students can continue to study computer science in college and get jobs related to computer science, which usually come with higher salaries. Female students getting jobs in these well-paid positions will help to ensure gender equality and allow for new innovation and creativity.

Pinewood is promoting inclusivity in computer science outside of the classroom through clubs like Girls Who Code, created by computer science teacher Christine Tran and freshman Soha Budhani.

“[Clubs like the Girls Who Code] will continue to inspire girls to pursue computer science at higher levels,” Assitant Head of School Haley Hemm said.

As society continues to delve deeper and deeper into the realms of technology, the benefits of clubs like Girls Who Code and AP Computer Science Principles will only become more and more apparent, helping prepare students at a college level so that they can succeed later on life and contribute to the diversification of the field as a whole.

“[Completing AP computer science classes are] like a milestone that tells [the students], you can do these things,” computer science teacher Haggai Mark said. “When they get to college or their professional career, they’ll be able to say, you know what, I’ve been doing [computer science]… and it’s going to sort of give them a trigger to keep working on this.”

Honors Biology 2 students are currently facing their most challenging task to date: a lab investigating Mendelian genetics, the process of inheritance, where certain traits are passed down from parent to offspring. Students will observe these traits through Drosophila melanogaster, also known as the common fruit fly. Through this lab, students explore this phenomenon up close, adding on to previously learned concepts in their current genetics unit, which they began in January.

Some people might wonder: why use the fruit fly? Science Department Chair and biology teacher Kim Hudson said that Drosophila melanogaster is used often in genetics, embryological, and developmental research.

“Fruit flies have been used as research animals of choice for more than 100 years because of their convenient size, short generation time, and easily observed physical traits,” Hudson said. “The first gene linked to a chromosome was identified using them.”

A process known as “crossing” is a key element of the lab that students will use. Crossing refers to breeding parents that display different sets of observable traits, phenotypes, such as size, eye color, or blood type.

“One cross might be normal female, red-eyed flies with mutant male, whiteeyed flies,” Hudson said. “In conjunction, the rules of inheritance Gregor Mendel discovered allow us to work backward to determine how a trait is passed down over generations.”

In this lab, students will perform the crossing themselves by selecting flies with different traits.

“[The students’ task is to] predict the genetic inheritance pattern of a specific cross they set up,” Hudson said.

The offspring of crosses between mutant traits such as wingless flies and normal flies will provide insight into how such traits are inherited. Furthermore, students will be required to perform a second cross to finalize their results. The lab is expected to run for multiple weeks, if not months, to collect the required data. In addition to waiting for the flies to breed, they have to be sorted by gender. Despite its lengthy processes, the lab prepares the students for future, higher level biology courses, and strengthens research skills.

“The goal is for students to be exposed to all stages of research,” Hudson said. “It hits all the main requirements for experimentation as well as introduces the idea that biology is not a fast science. When working with living organisms, patience is key.”

In addition to their long term research project, the Honors Biology 2 students are undertaking a variety of additional activities to become acquainted with higher level science. Just weeks prior, they completed a lab that simulated a process known as genetic transformation. In a similar fashion, students were tasked to make observations over several classes, which exposed them to the prolonged nature of biological proceedings.

Whether it is in genetics, cell division, or evolution, students are consistently challenged to formulate impactful hypotheses, make significant observations, and engage in the broader scientific community with their peers.